The Last Voyage Of The Demeter Trailer

[Dark Shadow]

Looking forward to this...

[Earth 2 Chris]

^Me too. I didn't know anything about it before seeing it in front of Renfield. At first, I thought it was part of THAT movie!

[drquest]

I think this looks good and I hope it doesn't turn into one of those jump scare movies and they can keep the tension up in it.

[Dark Shadow]

It's inspired me to re-read the book, and I'm about halfway through it. That portion of the novel is a little longer than I remember it, and it's fairly concise. I hope they have decided to tell the tale as written, and that there are no triumphant heroics. I'm getting ahead of things, but it if done well enough, it could warrant a prequel and a sequel while maintaining the integrity of the source material.

While I hold Dracula (31) in the highest regard, and have a tremendous appreciation for Bram Stoker's Dracula (92)*, I would like to see an adaptation more faithful to the source material.

While immersed in the book, I actually fear for Jonathan while he's in the castle and root for his escape. Each time Lucy recovers, I feel relieved and wish her well, even though I know what's coming! Etc.

It's a great story, and I think it could be successfully translated to the screen, it would need 6-8 hours to get it right though.


*(I still think Dan Curtis would have had grounds for litigation on that particular script).

[publiusr]

This would have been an even better Doctor Who episode.

I would have the TARDIS materialize aboard a ship.

One crewmember remains.

The big bad here that did the killing would be the ship’s figurehead…a weeping angel.
The doctor deals with the threat…and the frightened survivor smiles..revealing fangs.

Only then do we see that it is the Demeter.

[monitor_ep]

I want to watch this but trying to find time is hard. Yet another horror movie getting released during the summer.

[jwyblejr]

I don't get it. You got people calling this a bomb but guys like Stephen King and Guillermo del Toro singing it's praises.

[monitor_ep]

Boyfriend & I watch it early Saturday morning before going back to the anime convention.

Overall it works out great as a reboot to Universal Monsters and sets it up. I still do not like the Nosferatu version of Dracula, but that is my cross to bear...

Besides that factor, the movie itself was good. If this were released in October the numbers would be up.

[KnightDetective]

I still do not like the Nosferatu version of Dracula, but that is my cross to bear...

I see what you did there!

[Dark Shadow]

We went to see it on Saturday afternoon. I didn't "Love it" and I didn't "Hate it". I'd give it a 6.5. I expected an 8.0 to 8.5 experience, but left disappointed. In a nutshell, unnecessary points were invented, and key points were altered or outright omitted. The original source material for this section of the story is brief, but it is very direct.

BOOK & MOVIE SPOILERS BELOW...



In the book, in this very brief section of the book, everyone on board The Demeter disappears (perishes) one-by-one and those disappearances are documented by the Captain in the Captain's log. He is the last one to survive. When the ship washes up in Whitby, the the Captain is found dead & bound to the helm. And an extraordinarily large dog-like beast leaps off the grounded vessel and disappears into the darkness. Dracula takes on multiple physical appearances throughout the book.

Some of those points were omitted, some of them altered for seemingly no reason.

I think if all of those simple points were left in the film (as written), I could more easily overlook some of the other nonsense that was tossed into the mix.

What nonsense?

A) Dracula stowing away a "snack" to supposedly satiate his hunger throughout the voyage simply so the film could feature a struggling doctor to save the female savior/know-it-all. The whole point of Dracula "eliminating" the crew throughout the voyage in the novel was to restore his youthful appearance before arriving in England.

B) Despite being informed at least twice in the film that Dracula can take on the appearance of a man, we never get to see that happen. Not even at the end where he is seen in the shadows of the tavern, he still has his beastly presence, just wearing men's clothes.

C) The Captain's body is removed from the helm before setting shore for seemingly no plot purpose other than to demonstrate that the struggling doctor has a compassionate soul (as if that had to be demonstrated). That image of the Captain's body strapped to the helm is not only iconic, it also strikes terror into the bones of those who discover the grounded vessel.

D) The struggling doctor is set up to appropriate the mission & purpose of Van Helsing.

Despite the convoluted way they were written in to the story, I did appreciate both of those characters, and thought the actors (Franciosi & Hawkins) did an excellent job in their roles. They could just as easily have been written in as a regular stowaway and a successful doctor who needed to book a hasty passage back to London and still have managed to "realize" what was happening and work toward defeating the evil that stalked them.

David Dastmalchian was also a highlight for me, I always seem to enjoy watching him on the big screen. The first time I saw him was in The Dark Knight and I remember thinking, "I want to see more of this guy". He has such an interesting & expressive face, maybe not handsome or sexy, but definitely fascinating.

The acting (overall), the effects and the atmosphere were great. The story, however, went a bit long and was overly written and convoluted (for no real purpose other than Hollywood 20XX).

Worth a single watch, but lower your expectations. I'll probably watch it again down the road on TV, but I won't see it again on the big screen.

[blastphemey]

Hopefully going to see this tonight or tomorrow, I haven't read your review Dark Shadow( aside from the first line) as I want to go in fresh. Hoping its better experience, I think it's a great setting for a horror film. *fingers crossed*


Update: Here's the short version: The movie was quite enjoyable, a bit gratuitous with the gore in my opinion but I am not a fan of very graphic horror. I imagine that the film makers needed to add some more blood and gore to try and appeal to younger audiences maybe(?) Overall it had an eerie old school vibe to it, a decent homage to the classic Universal flicks.